Gift vouchers are often considered an easy and convenient option when purchasing gifts for friends and family. For the relative with unusual taste, the friend who lives in another part of the UK or the husband and wife to be who already have everything, a gift voucher may appear to be the ideal gift. But what happens if, before the recipient has the opportunity to redeem the voucher, the relevant retailer becomes insolvent?

In terms of current insolvency law consumers are ordinary creditors who rank at the bottom of the statutory hierarchy of creditors.

The Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force yesterday, 30 November 2016, together with other consequential amendments and changes to the Court Rules which relate to bankruptcy in Scotland.

When considering whether or not to bring a legal action, it is important to establish if it is competent and commercially worthwhile to do so. The ability to bring, or continue with, legal proceedings against a company can be restricted if that company enters into a formal insolvency process. The position of creditors may be improved now that the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 has at last been brought into force.

Bankruptcy made clearer: One of the bastions of old-style Scots terminology, guaranteed to perplex Southern audiences, is the law of bankruptcy in Scotland as it applies to individuals and assorted others.

But maybe for no longer. The Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 has reached the statute book. It’s a consolidating act, encompassing statutes from 1985, 1993, 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2014. It introduces a new and fairly modern framework, the aim being to make it less cumbersome and easier to use by those who do not have intimate knowledge of it (most of us!).

The Law Amending Certain Laws for the Purpose of Improvement of the Investment Environment, Law No: 6728 has been published in the Official Gazette dated 9 August 2016 and numbered 29796 (“Amending Law”). It amends several laws including the (i) Stamp Duty Law No: 488, (ii) Law of Fees No: 492, and (iii) provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code Law No: 6102 on the incorporation of entities. With these amendments, the Turkish government aims to reduce the cost of foreign direct investment in Turkey.

The Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 (the “Act”) received Royal Assent on 28 April 2016 and is expected to come into force by the end of the year.

The Act is only the second piece of primary consolidation legislation to have passed through the Scottish Parliament and brings together the various laws on personal insolvency into a single piece of legislation.

At the moment, the law is rather unwieldy and difficult to follow in practice.

The Belgian Constitutional Court declared netting arrangements in insolvency proceedings, which are explicitly allowed under the Belgian Financial Collateral Law of 15 December 2004, unconstitutional where such netting arrangements apply to non-merchants. Despite the numerous criticisms on this decision, a legislative proposal was drafted on 13 September 2011 in order to explicitly exclude non-merchants from the application of the Belgian Financial Collateral Law.

On 22 September 2011, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine No. 3795-VI “On Amendments to Several Legislative Acts of Ukraine regarding the Regulation of Legal Relations between Creditors and Receivers of Financial Services” (the “Law”). The Law, among other changes, introduced amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Restoring Debtor’s Solvency or Recognising it Bankrupt”, No. 2343-XII, dated 14 May 1992, as amended (the “Bankruptcy Law”).

On 22 September 2011, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted Law of Ukraine No. 3795-VI “On Amendments to Several Legislative Acts of Ukraine regarding Regulation of Legal Relations between Creditors and Receivers of Financial Services” (the “Law”). The Law became effective on 16 October 2011. Although the positive impact of certain amendments is rather ambiguous at this stage, the Law is likely to reduce risks in the financial system.

The major amendments envisaged by the Law cover the following key areas:

Loans and security

Every business must manage risk. Whenever such risk turns into reality, the consequences must be accepted and declared for the well being of the wider economic environment. The purpose of this article is to analyse the legal framework of the commencement of insolvency proceedings at a debtor’s request and the sanctions applicable when such a framework is surpassed.